Long Islanders Protest Deportations

John MittySunday, April 6, 2014

Around 70 marchers gathered in Long Island yesterday at the Workplace Project in Freeport and marched half a mile to the NICE bus terminal in Hempstead to protest the deportations of illegal immigrants. The signs they carried were graced with phrases like “Education Not Deportation.”

The march was not an isolated event, but part of a string of marches throughout the country in more than 40 different cities. Protesters are calling on the Obama administration to relax deportation efforts, particularly for families with children. Deportation policies have become more severe in recent years. Many immigrants are deported from the U.S. after years of work. “These deportations are tearing our families apart,” explained Omar Henriquez, 57, of Long Beach, one of the leaders of Saturday’s rally. “Too many children are seeing their parents deported.” When families are torn apart, children can be left without care, and financial situations can worsen, which disempowers immigrants to change their situations. Marchers in Hempstead were joined by a number of civil rights groups, including La Fuente, as well as students from the Hofstra University Center for Civic Engagement. Protestors hope that an alternative can be found to deportation which might allow illegal immigrants to become American citizens.

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